Securty in Afghanistan is at its worst,UN envoy

Security in Afghanistan is at its worst since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, the United Nations special representative for the country, Kai Eide, told Norwegian television Tuesday.

“The security situation has deteriorated,” Eide told the TV2 News channel on the sidelines of a conference in Oslo.

“What we saw in August is worse than what we have seen at any time since the fall of the Taliban,” the Norwegian diplomat added, without explaining which events he was referring to.

On a more optimistic note, Eide hailed US president-elect Barack Obama’s vow to pull troops out of Iraq and concentrate efforts on stabilising Afghanistan.

“This is something I consider very positive,” he said, adding, however, “we must not only concentrate on military forces.

“We obviously need more troops to help train the Afghan forces and ensure security for the (presidential) election next autumn, but the biggest challenge is reconstruction,” he insisted.

In an interview, Eide said the installation of a new US administration offers a fresh opportunity to tackle Afghanistan’s problems and the chance must not be wasted.

He said he was looking forward to a review of Afghan policy by the Obama Administration and said the UN wanted to work with Washington.

“I don’t think there is a need for new strategies but a need for more disciplined implementation of the strategy we have.”
Report from Norwegian television